PW_LOCK(3) | Library Functions Manual | PW_LOCK(3)

# NAME

pw_lock, pw_mkdb, pw_abort, pw_setprefix, pw_getprefix — passwd file update functions

# LIBRARY

System Utilities Library (libutil, -lutil)

# SYNOPSIS

#include <util.h>

int
pw_lock(int retries);

int
pw_mkdb(const char *username, int secureonly);

void
pw_abort(void);

int
pw_setprefix(const char *new_prefix);

const char *
pw_getprefix(void);

# DESCRIPTION

The pw_lock(), pw_mkdb(), and pw_abort() functions allow a program to update the system passwd database.

The pw_lock() function attempts to lock the passwd database by creating the file /etc/ptmp, and returns the file descriptor of that file. If retries is greater than zero, pw_lock() will try multiple times to open /etc/ptmp, waiting one second between tries. In addition to being a lock file, /etc/ptmp will also hold the contents of the new passwd file.

The pw_mkdb() function updates the passwd file from the contents of /etc/ptmp. You should finish writing to and close the file descriptor returned by pw_lock() before calling pw_mkdb(). If pw_mkdb() fails and you do not wish to retry, you should make sure to call pw_abort() to clean up the lock file. If the username argument is not NULL, only database entries pertaining to the specified user will be modified. If the secureonly argument is non-zero, only the secure database will be updated.

The pw_abort() function aborts a passwd file update by deleting /etc/ptmp. The passwd database remains unchanged.

The pw_setprefix() function defines the root directory used for passwd file updates. If the prefix is set to /newroot pw_lock() will operate on /newroot/etc/ptmp afterwards. The default prefix is an empty string.

The pw_getprefix() function returns the root directory which is currently used for passwd file updates.

# RETURN VALUES

The pw_lock() and pw_mkdb() functions return -1 if they are unable to complete properly.

# FILES

/etc/master.passwd
/etc/ptmp

# SEE ALSO

pw_init(3), pwd_mkdb(8)

February 17, 2007 | NetBSD 7.2